And Life Goes On
by Tanguay18
Summary: Chapter 16 is now up! Mary had her son and now she has to find the perfect name for him!
1. Back to School

Disclaimer: I still don't own 7th Heaven or any of the characters seen on the show.   
  
A/N: This is a sequel to Coping With Loss, so if you haven't read that, you might be lost. Now that the family is moving on, what will happen when Ruthie and Simon return to school? Surely the students heard of Simon's brush with death and Ruthie not speaking for so long. The problem is whether the students will accept them back into their lives or ostracize them.  
  
(Ruthie's POV)  
  
I took a deep breath as I stepped out of the car. I waved a nervous goodbye to my parents as I headed toward my old school. I don't why I felt so nervous. It's not like I had never been to school before. I guess it's just been so long, I'm not sure what to expect.   
  
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" my mother called out.  
  
"I'm sure Mom. I'm meeting Peter here in a minute," I assured her.  
  
"Ruthie! Over here!" Peter yelled at that precise moment.   
  
My parents finally pulled away and I ran over to my boyfriend. He kissed me and then we held hands as we approached the school. It seemed like all the kids got quiet when we walked past them. I hated that feeling. When we entered the building several kids turned to stare at us. I quickly let go of Peter's hand because the principal was heading toward us.   
  
"Miss Camden, Mr. Petrowski. It's good to see you two have finally returned. I hope you are doing well these days," she greeted us.  
  
"I'm all right," I replied.  
  
"Me too," Peter said.  
  
"Well, that's good. I imagine you two need to go and see the counselors to get your schedules and such," the principal said.  
  
"Yeah, that's where we were headed," I explained.  
  
"Then I won't keep you any longer. I'd hate to make you late to class," she grinned.  
  
I rolled my eyes as we walked away," She's weird."  
  
"Very weird," Peter agreed," so how were your parents this morning?"  
  
"I think they were both afraid I couldn't do this without them. How about your mom?" I asked.  
  
"She started crying when I got of the car. I told her I'll be fine, but she didn't believe me. I know it won't be like just any normal school day, but still, I think I can handle it. I'm sure the other kids will be curious about us and give us weird looks, but I'm sure we'll both be fine," he answered.  
  
"Yeah. I mean, they'll probably ask some stupid or rude questions, but it's no big deal. Besides, we always have eachother to fall back on," I smiled.  
  
(Simon's POV)  
  
My parents wanted to drive me to school, but I told them I was a senior in high school and I would be fine by myself. I understand that they worry about me ever since I tried to kill myself, but I really am okay now. I know I don't want to die and I just want to lead a normal life. I was a little worried about how the other people at school would treat me, but I wasn't that concerned about it. I drove my car to the school and headed in for my first class of the day.  
  
When I took a seat in my first period class, all the other kids turned to stare at me. Then some of them turned and whispered. They were trying to see my wrists, I think, but I was wearing a jacket. There was nothing to see anyway. The scars had been healed. I lowered my head, trying not to catch anyone else's gaze. Then Cecilia walked into the room. I freaked out because I hadn't talked to her in a long time, not since she broke up with me. I think I scared her and I wasn't sure of how to act around her. She took a seat next to me.  
  
"Hi Simon," she said quietly.  
  
"Hello Cecilia," I replied.  
  
Before either of us could say anymore the bell rang and the teacher started class. I felt relief. Those first words to eachother were a big start. Even if all we said to eachother was a hello, it had to start somewhere. I was glad that she wasn't afraid to talk to me.   
  
(Annie's POV)   
  
This morning was very hard for me. Ruthie and Simon went back to school and David started his first day of school. I managed not to cry until we dropped David off. I couldn't believe my little baby boy was going to school. He's not such a baby anymore actually. I'm not so worried about him, it's just hard to know that my last child has started school. It's mostly Simon I'm worried about. Ever since his attempt to commit suicide, he has been emotionally fragile. He seems to be doing all right these days, but high school kids can be cruel. I'm sure they've heard of what happened to him. They are liable to start saying really awful things to him. Kids Ruthie's age can be mean too. I just hope that they can fit back in at school.  
  
"Annie?" Eric interupted my thoughts.  
  
"Hmm," I replied.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.  
  
"The kids," I replied.  
  
"Me too. I'm not so sure that they'll be all right. They said they would be, but I don't know if I believe that," he told me.  
  
"That's exactly what I was thinking. I know they put up brave facades for us, but kids can be so cruel," I worried.  
  
Eric sighed," I guess all we can do is wait and let them live their own lives. What are you going to do while the kids are in school. It's going to be so lonely now that even our youngest is in school?"   
  
"I was thinking about maybe getting a job again. I don't really know though," I said.  
  
A/N: I've been working on that for a while. I wasn't quite sure where to go with this story. I couldn't decide how far into the future it should take place, so I finally decided on the beginning of the next school year. I hope that you like the beginning of the sequel to "Coping With Loss". Reviews would be greatly appreciated. 


	2. Good and Bad Days

Chapter 2: Good and Bad Days  
  
(David's POV)   
  
Today was the first day of kindergarten. Mommy started crying when she kissed me goodbye. I don't understand why. I had a lot of fun at school. I met other kids and got new friends. It wasn't scary at all. I thought since Mommy was crying it might be scary.   
  
"So, David. How was your first day of school?" Daddy asked me.  
  
"It was fun. I got to draw a picture," I showed him the picture I drew of Happy.   
  
"That's a great picture son," Daddy smiled at my drawing.  
  
"I like it," I said.  
  
"Do you think you are going to have fun at school?" he asked.  
  
"I think it will be very fun. I just wish Sam could be there," I told him.  
  
"So do I," Daddy's voice got sad," so do I, David."  
  
"I made friends with a kid named Fred. He lives down the street from us. He was really cool," I explained.  
  
"Good. I think you will make a lot of new friends at school," Daddy said.  
  
"Me too. And my teacher was really nice. Her name's Mrs. Johnson. She said she really likes kids. She let us play with toys and draw and she read us a really cool story," I told Daddy.  
  
"I'm glad you had such a great day," Daddy told me.  
  
(Eric's POV)  
  
When David got home from school, I was glad to hear that he had such a good day. I feared how the older kids fared. I knew that they could be in for some tough days ahead. When Simon came in, I was almost afraid to ask how his day went. He didn't look too happy.  
  
"How did your day go?" I asked.  
  
"Not great," he replied curtly.  
  
"What happened?" I questioned.  
  
"Nobody would talk to me. All day long I had to sit by myself. It's like they're all afraid of me," he explained.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that. NO one would sit next to you?" I inquired.  
  
"Okay one person talked to me," he responded.  
  
"Who?" I prodded.  
  
"Cecilia. But all she said was hello. That was it. Just 'Hi Simon'. That was all anybody said to me all day," he answered.  
  
"I think that people ARE afraid of you. They heard that you tried to kill yourself and they don't know what to think. You need to just act like plain-old Simon. Eventually, your true friends will come around. The others will continue to treat you like a pariah. You have to realize that if those people can't accept you even though you may have done something awful, that they aren't the kind of people you really want in your life. It's going to take some getting used to for everybody. Even you. And Cecilia talking to you, that's just a good start. She's had plenty of time to think over what's happened between you and it seems like she's decided she wants to be friends again," I told him.  
  
"I know it's going to be hard. I'm afraid. What if no one ever accepts me back into their lives? Am I destined to be an outcast? I don't want to be a pariah," he sighed.  
  
"My suggestion is to talk to Cecilia. Welcome her back into your life. If no one else wants to accept you, make new friends. Someone is bound to like you for you and not what you tried to do," I suggested," just give it some time.'  
  
"Thanks Dad," he returned," I've got to be going. I already have homework on the first day of school."  
  
(Lucy's POV)  
  
Ruthie came over to my house after school. She already told Mom she would be here so Mom wouldn't worry. Ruthie likes to come over and play with Sammie. I enjoy just sitting back and watching the two of them interact. Ruthie is very gentle with the baby. I think one day she'll make a great mother.  
  
"So, how was your first day of school?" I inquired.  
  
"Surprisingly good. Lots of the kids were staring at me and I asked them all what they were staring at. They said they were really sorry about what happened and they were afraid to say anything to hurt my feelings. I talked to them about what happened and how hard it got at times. They were very accepting and I was kind of shocked about that," she revealed.  
  
"Good. I'm glad that you confronted the kids. It's hard when everyone knows you've coped with something they'd never understand. You just confronted them. That's the best way to handle it. Now they're not afraid to talk to you," I was proud of how she'd handled things.  
  
"I'm glad too," Ruthie agreed," so when's Kevin coming home?"  
  
"He should be a little late tonight. He told me to eat without him. I think I'm coming over for dinner tonight," I said.  
  
"Yay. I love it when you bring Sammie over. She's so cute. I just love playing with her," Ruthie's face lit up.  
  
"I think if I ever need a babysitter I've got one right here," I told her.  
  
"Really?" she asked in surprise.  
  
"Why not? You love Sammie and she loves you. As a matter of fact, on Saturday Kevin and I are going out to dinner with Roxanne and Chandler. I was going to ask Mom to watch the baby, but I think you could watch her instead. I can drop her off at the house and that way if you need help Mom's still around. What do you think?" I asked.  
  
"I'd love to babysit," Ruthie exclaimed.  
  
"Great," I smiled," I know Kevin will be fine with it. I'll tell him tonight to make sure he's fine with it, but he knows how much Sammie likes you." 


	3. Babysitting

Disclaimer: No, even during my long break from FanFiction, I didn't gain ownership of 7th Heaven. The only character that is my own creation is Sammie.  
  
Chapter 3: Babysitting  
  
(Ruthie's POV)   
  
Saturday rolled around quickly and was excited to be babysitting for Lucy and Kevin. I just adore Sammie. She's such a beautiful baby and I can tell she really likes me. She just responds to me in a different way than she does to anyone else. Her first word besides mommy or daddy was "Wuwie". I know that it means Ruthie. Sometimes I can hardly wait to have a baby of my own, but I also know that I am far to young to have a baby.   
  
The doorbell rang at 5:00 on Saturday evening, "I'll get it," I yelled as I dashed to the front door.   
  
It was a smiling Lucy and Kevin with Sammie.   
  
"Hello Ruthie," Kevin greeted me, " how are you doing these days?"  
  
"I'm fine," I said and kissed Sammie's cheek," how are you?"  
  
"Pretty good. So, are you ready to watch Sammie tonight?" Kevin asked.  
  
"You bet I am!" I exclaimed.  
  
"I know you'll do a wonderful job with her," Lucy said confidently.   
  
"Okay, you know where we're going, the phone number is on the refrigerator, should anything happen. We'll be back by 9:00 and hopefully not any later," Kevin explained.  
  
"You don't have a thing to worry about," I assured Kevin," besides, Mom is still here if I need help with something. You two go out and have fun!"  
  
"Bye Ruthie," Lucy said," bye Sammie!"  
  
Lucy and Kevin looked back one last time and then drove away to their dinner date. I carried Sammie up to my room to spread out her blanket and play with her toys. I made sure to "babyproof" my room last night so Sammie couldn't get into anything she shouldn't be getting into.   
  
About an hour later, Mom called out," Ruthie? Dinner's almost ready. You should get Sammie ready."   
  
"Okay Mom, be down in a few minutes," I replied.  
  
I got Sammie all cleaned up and ready for her meal. She wouldn't be eating the same food as the rest of us of course, but she could still sit at the dinner table and I could feed her while I ate. I carried her down to the dining room and was shocked to see Cecilia.  
  
"Hi Ruthie," she said.  
  
"Hey Cecilia," I replied, the confusion clear in my voice.   
  
"I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here," she guessed.  
  
I nodded my head as I placed Sammie in her high chair.   
  
"Simon invited me to dinner. We're friends again," she explained.  
  
"Oh. Well, that's good," I smiled.  
  
Mom, Simon, Dad and David entered the dining room with dinner. They each placed the dish they were carrying on the table and we started dinner. Sammie was being a little stubborn while I was feeding her and she threw her food at me. I finally got her to eat, but not after getting her food in my hair. Dinner was a little awkward with Cecilia there at first. No one had seen much of her in months and it was like there was nothing to say. Eventually everyone warmed up to her and it was almost like old times again.   
  
(Kevin's POV)  
  
Dinner with Roxanne and Chandler was fun. It was a nice change of pace from staying at home and eating alone all the time. I wasn't at all nervous like the first time we left Sammie with a babysitter. I was confident of Ruthie's ability to take care of a baby. And if she had any trouble, Annie was certainly capable of handling any situation.   
  
"Is your food good?" Lucy asked me.  
  
"Yes. Very good. And yours?" I replied.  
  
"It's fine. You just had a funny look on your face," she said.  
  
"I guess I was just kind of thinking, you know," I told her.  
  
"It was one of those looks like 'oh geez, what am I eating?'," Roxanne laughed.  
  
"You did have a sort of disgusted look on your face," Chandler agreed.  
  
"Well, sorry. I'll try not to think anymore," I joined the laughter.  
  
As dinner wound down, we headed to a movie. I didn't really care for the movie that was playing, but decided to give it a shot. It could turn out well. Besides, Lucy seemed to be very interested in it. The movie turned out to be okay. It ended at about 8:45.   
  
"Wanna go get some ice cream or something?" Chandler offered.  
  
"Uh, no thanks. We told Ruthie we'd be home by 9," Lucy explained.  
  
"Oh," Roxanne said, almost disappointed, "then you two had better get going."  
  
(Simon's POV)  
  
After the first day of school, I almost didn't want to go back. It was so awful being lonely. I decided it would be best to just go and face my problems though. When I got to class again the second day, Cecilia sat next to me. She was more talkative this time. We nearly got in trouble with the teacher for talking so much. I invited her to dinner for the weekend, so we could catch up without a teacher yelling at us. It felt good to have someone to talk to again.   
  
"Hello Simon," Cecilia smiled as I let her into the house.  
  
"Good to see you here again," I replied.  
  
"It has been quite a while," she laughed nervously," so when's dinner?"  
  
"In about a half hour I guess. How was your first week of school?" I inquired, unsure of exactly what to say.  
  
"Pretty good. A little boring, but it's school. How's your family?" she asked.  
  
"Good. Ruthie's upstairs babysitting for Lucy. She and Kevin are out with Roxanne and Chandler. David likes school so far. Mom and Dad are keeping themselves busy. I think it's hard on them to have their last son in school," I said.  
  
"Yeah. Wow. I guess David is the last one. They must be sort of lonely during the day. It seems like there always used to be someone around," Cecila mused.  
  
"I know. Now Matt, Mary and Lucy are all grown up and moved out. I'm going to graduate and probably move out soon. Then it will just be Mom, Dad, Ruthie and David. It will be weird because this house has always been so busy," I said.  
  
"I'm sure your parents will adjust. Or find someone else to take in. They are always taking people in. I really admire them for that. They are so caring. It must have been fun growing up with so many people always coming and going in your house," she told me.   
  
"Simon, Cecilia, dinner's ready, could you help me carry the food?" Mom asked.  
  
"Sure Mom," I said," Cecilia you can just go ahead and sit. You're the guest."  
  
I followed Mom into the kitchen where David and Dad were waiting. We carried all the dishes into the dining room and Ruthie was there with Samantha. At first, things were a little bit awkward because no one had talked to Cecilia in a long time. After a while though, everyone felt more comfortable and it seemed more like it used to in our house.   
  
A/N: Okay, so I haven't updated in a few months. I needed to take a break from my writing and focus on school. Now I'm halfway through my senior year, yay! I'll be graduating in May and off to college in the fall. So I don't know how consistently I'll be able to update my story, but I'll do it as often as I can. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. 


	4. Guess What Mary Did?

Chapter 4: Guess What Mary Did?  
  
(Mary's POV)  
  
I was dreading calling my parents. I knew what they would say. I didn't know how to tell them. Just how do you explain something like this to your parent? I wish I could make someone else do it for me, but I have to do this myself. Just do it. I'll just pick up the phone, dial it, spill my guts and hang up. Leave no room for them to get mad.   
  
I dialed the familiar phone number and listened as the phone rang, two, three, four times.   
  
Finally an anwer," Hello."  
  
"Hi Ruthie. It's me, Mary," I said.  
  
"How are you Mary?" she asked sounding happy.  
  
"Um, I'm okay. I hate to cut you off, but I need to talk to Mom and Dad," I sighed.  
  
"What did you do?" Ruthie asked.  
  
"What makes you think I did something?" I asked.  
  
"I can tell by your voice. And you want to talk to Mom and Dad. Chances are you did something. What did you do?" she inquired.  
  
"Just put Mom or Dad on the phone please," I ordered.  
  
"Okay, just a minute."  
  
"Hello. Mary what's wrong?" Dad immediately wanted to know.  
  
"Is Mom there too?" I asked.  
  
"She's going to pick up another phone. What is wrong?" he asked me again.  
  
"I want to tell you both at the same time," I explained.  
  
"Okay. So how are you?" he inquired.  
  
"I'm okay. I-," I got cut off.  
  
"Mary! What's going on?" Mom joined the conversation.  
  
I took a deep breath," I've got something to tell you. And you're probably not going to like it. So please let me finish my story without interruption."  
  
"All right, Mary. Go ahead," Mom coaxed.  
  
"Last month, I met this guy. His name is Adam. We hit it off immediately and started dating. We really liked eachother and I did something stupid. Mom, Dad, I'm pregnant," I finished and slammed the phone down before either could say a word.  
  
(Annie's POV)  
  
"Mary! Mary? Are you still there?" I asked frantically.   
  
"She hung up," Eric stuttered.  
  
"Call her back! We need to talk," I exclaimed.   
  
"I can't believe it. Mary knows better than that," Eric began to get upset," why would Mary do something like that?"  
  
"What did Mary do?" Ruthie asked.  
  
"I don't know if I should tell you," I said.  
  
"Please. She's my sister. If she did something I should know," Ruthie pleaded.  
  
"Go ahead and tell her," Eric said.  
  
"Well, the thing is, Mary met a guy a month ago and now she's-she's pregnant," I blurted out.   
  
"SHE DID WHAT???" Ruthie was absolutely shocked.   
  
"I know, I'm shocked too. And she hung up before we could say anything," Eric replied.  
  
"I'm calling her back right now," I said.  
  
My hands were a little shaky as I dialed Mary's number. I listened impatiently as the phone rang 2, 3, 4, 5 times.   
  
"No answer," I sighed.  
  
"Annie, we have to fly to Mary and talk to her. She's not going to answer her phone and we need to talk to her. That's our only option," Eric explained.  
  
"Wait, by 'we' who exactly do you mean?" Ruthie asked.  
  
"Your mother and I," Eric said.  
  
"What? What are Simon, David and I supposed to do?" Ruthie demanded.   
  
"I'm sure we could get Lucy and Kevin to come stay with you," I suggested.  
  
"Yes. That's what we'll do. I'll call the airlines and when I'm finished, you can call Lucy," Eric's voice was firm.   
  
(Simon's POV)   
  
I was startled out of my homework when I heard Ruthie shouting. I quickly tossed my books aside and ran to the kitchen, where the shouting was coming from. I arrived to Dad on the phone talking about tickets. I was confused.   
  
When Ruthie caught sight of me she burst out," Guess what Mary did?!"  
  
"What?" my voice showed my confusion.   
  
"She got pregnant! By some guy she only met last month!" Ruthie was clearly upset.  
  
"Ruthie, please, I'm on the phone," Dad quieted her.   
  
She lowered her voice," And Mom and Dad are going to fly out to see her because she won't answer her phone. You, me and David have to stay here."  
  
"By ourselves?" I asked.  
  
"No, they want Lucy and Kevin to stay with us," Ruthie explained.  
  
I was reeling from the news and didn't quite process all the information fast. Mary got herself pregnant? She wouldn't, it must be some sort of mistake. She knows better.   
  
"Wait! Why does Lucy have to stay with us? I'm old enough to keep an eye out for you two," I said indignantly.  
  
"Not now Simon. We don't know how long we'll be gone. I'd feel better if Lucy and Kevin stayed with you," Mom stated firmly.  
  
"Oh, I see," I muttered," when are you leaving?"  
  
"As soon as Lucy and Kevin get here, your father and I need to go pack right now," Mom took off, leaving Ruthie and I alone.   
  
"This is insane," Ruthie told me.  
  
"No kidding. Mom and Dad are just leaving," I started.  
  
"Mommy and Daddy are leaving?" David had just entered the room," where they going?"  
  
"Mom and Dad have to go see Mary," I explained.  
  
"Yeah, she got herself in trouble," Ruthie said.  
  
David asked," So they are going without us?"  
  
"Yes, they are. Lucy and Kevin are going to come stay with us while they are gone," I sighed.  
  
David ran out of the kitchen in disbelief. He had to go ask Mom for himself. 


	5. Mommy And Daddy Are Gone

Chapter 5: Mommy and Daddy Are Gone  
  
(David's POV)  
  
I cried and begged Mommy not to leave, but she did anyway. She said she was worried about Mary. What about me? Wasn't she worried about me? She can't just leave me alone. And Daddy is going too. Mommy and Daddy are gone. They left me. I'm very upset by this.   
  
"Do I have to go to school?" I whined.  
  
"Yes you do David," Lucy sighed.  
  
"But Sammie doesn't have to go," I started to cry.  
  
"That's because she's too young. You have to go to school. I know you miss Mom and Dad, but they'll be home in a week or so. Trust me, go to school and you'll be fine. You will have a good day and maybe you'll have so much fun you'll forget that Mom and Dad are gone for a little while," Lucy explained.  
  
"Fine," I pouted and crossed my arms.   
  
Lucy practically had to drag me out the door. She kept saying I was going to be late. I didn't care. If I got in trouble, they'd call Mommy and she'd have to come home. I finally got in the car and went to school. This girl I didn't like came and started calling me names, so I hit her. My teacher got really upset, called Lucy and sent me home.  
  
"David," Lucy looked down at me," what am I going to do with you?"  
  
"Call Mommy. Tell her I was bad. then she'll come home," I smiled.  
  
"Is that what this is about?" Lucy almost laughed," David, sweetie, you know it's wrong to hit other kids. Did you think that if you got in trouble at school, Mom would have to come home?"  
  
"Yes," I pouted.  
  
"That was wrong. You know better than that. Mommy has to go take care of Mary for a little while and she won't forget about you. Sometimes Mommys have to take care of their grown up kids too. Mary needs Mommy and Daddy right now. They'll come home soon and you will get to spend lots of time with them. Getting yourself in trouble won't make Mom come home. I think you can behave yourself now, so Mommy doesn't have to worry while she's gone, sound like a deal?" she asked.  
  
"I guess so," I said.  
  
"So you'll be good now?" she asked.  
  
"Yes Lucy," I promised.  
  
"Okay. Well, since you're out of school and Mom and Dad aren't here, you want to get some ice cream?" Lucy asked.  
  
"Yes! I love ice cream," I smiled.  
  
"It's our little secret, okay," she winked at me," and Sammie can't talk, so we know she won't tell."  
  
"Cool!" I said. I was happy now.  
  
(Eric's POV)  
  
I knocked on the door to Mary's apartment. There was no answer for a minute, but then I heard movement from inside. Annie grabbed my hand, likely out of nervousness. Mary opened the door, seemed shocked for a moment, then grabbed Annie, and burst into tears.   
  
"Mary, what's wrong?" I asked with concern.  
  
"Adam left me," Mary sobbed, " I'm so scared, I can't raise a child by myself. I'm so stupid."  
  
"No Mary, don't say that," Annie soothed, " sometimes, we do things without really thinking them through. That doesn't mean we're stupid."  
  
"But I am Mom," Mary sobbed," I always do stupid things. I have screwed my life up so much."  
  
"Mary," I started, "I don't know what to say."  
  
She left Annie's embrace and clung to me," Daddy, help me."  
  
"What do you need?" I asked.  
  
"I don't know what to do with this baby. I can't raise it on my own. I'm not responsible enough. I don't want an abortion, but I don't want to raise a child all by myself," she sobbed quietly.  
  
"I'll tell you what, you come back to Glen Oak with your mother and I and we'll help you. If you move back home, we'll be there to help you raise your daughter," I explained.  
  
"Really?" this time she glanced at Annie.  
  
"Of course. You're our daughter. We love you no matter what you do," Annie sighed.   
  
She knew this was the best course of action. I hadn't discussed this option with her, but inside she too knew it was right. Our daughter needed our help and the best way for us to help her was if she was at home again. Neither of us had probably thought of this before, but of course we didn't realize how much distress Mary was in.   
  
"Come on. We'll help you pack up your things," I said.  
  
"Now? I didn't think we would leave so soon," Mary said, surprised.  
  
"Well, we don't have to leave right away, but packing your whole life up takes a few days at least," Annie explained.  
  
"Okay," she dried her eyes on a tissue," I have the best parents in the world. No matter what stupid thing I do, you always try to help me pick up the scattered pieces of my life."  
  
(Kevin's POV)  
  
I was at the Camden's house when Lucy picked up the phone.  
  
"It's Mom and Dad," she whispered, "Hello Mom. How's it going?"  
  
I watched her face as she listned to her mother.  
  
"That bad?" she asked.  
  
Her expression was growing less concerned and more shocked. Her eyes got huge and she dropped the phone.  
  
"LUCY??" I heard Annie call out.  
  
I picked up the phone," Mom."  
  
"Oh Kevin. Is Lucy okay?" she asked, worry in her voice.  
  
"Yes, whatever you said just surprised her," I replied, putting a hand on Lucy's shoulder.  
  
Lucy's face cleared and she sat on the couch, muttering to herself.  
  
"What's going on?" I asked.  
  
"Well, Mary is coming back home. She's going to move back into the house," Annie explained.  
  
"Oh. I see," I said.  
  
"I just called to let everyone know and to tell you that we'll be home in two days," Annie finished.  
  
"Okay, thanks for calling, I'll tell everyone," I said, " goodbye and see you in a few days."  
  
I hung up," Don't worry Luce, I'm shocked too."  
  
"I just didn't expect it to be so bad," she said as I took a seat next to her," you know Mary was always in trouble, but she never knew when to ask for help before. I couldn't imagine being pregnant and by myself."  
  
"I could never leave a woman pregnant and by herself," I said," I don't see how anyone could."  
  
"Well, we should tell the kids and get the house cleaned up for their arrival. When will they be here?" Lucy asked.  
  
"Two days. That's what your Mom said," I told her.  
  
"Well that's plenty of time to get this place nice and clean. Not that it's really dirty, but I'd like it to be cleaner than when we got here," Lucy smiled. 


	6. Welcome Home

Chapter 6: Welcome Home  
  
(Ruthie's POV)  
  
"What time did they say their flight got in?" I asked again.  
  
"3:15," Lucy told me.   
  
"And it's what time now?" I asked.  
  
"4:00, so they will be home soon," Kevin told me, patting my shoulder.  
  
"Why are you so nervous anyway?" Simon asked.  
  
"Well, it's been a while since we've seen Mary. I don't know what to expect. She's probably going to be very upset. I don't know how I will react to her either. I love her, but I can't believe she did this," I explained.  
  
"It's okay Ruthie, none of us know what to expect," Lucy admitted.  
  
"I expect Mary!" David exclaimed.  
  
I giggled," We all do, silly. We just don't know how she is going to be."  
  
"Oh," David's face fell," I get it now."  
  
Everyone sat around, just waiting for the door to fly open. We had cleaned up the house really well and made a small sign that said," Welcome Home Mary!" As much as any of us were upset with her, we also knew she needed our support. Time seemed to be passing by extra slowly.   
  
Just when it seemed as if that door would never open, it swung open to reveal Mom and Dad holding suitcases. Mary came in right behind them and dropped her bags by the door.  
  
"Hey everyone," she greeted us meekly.  
  
"Hello Mary," everyone replied in unison.  
  
"Why are you guys looking at me funny?" she asked.  
  
I jumped up to hug her," No reason. We just haven't seen you in so long."  
  
Everyone else quickly followed suit. Once she was met by everyone, she picked up her bags.  
  
"So where shall I stay?" she asked.  
  
"Well we thought it over and you can have the garage apartment," Dad explained.  
  
"Yeah, Kevin and I are gone from here. We live really close to here, so we're over a lot," Lucy said.  
  
"Okay, then I should carry my stuff up there," Mary sighed.  
  
"Let us help you," I quickly grabbed a bag from her.  
  
Kevin and Simon both grabbed the heavier looking suitcases. Lucy was holding Sammie so she couldn't help carry anything. The rest of us carried Mary's belongings to the garage apartment. She looked around. There was not much furniture in there: a bed, a chair, a lamp and a mini-refrigerator.  
  
"This looks....nice," she finally said," plenty big enough for myself right now."  
  
Everyone agreed and then went back to the house to let Mary settle in for a while. I stuck behind to talk to her.  
  
"It's good to have you home big sis," I said," even under the circumstances."  
  
Mary sighed," Yeah. It's good to be here. I couldn't handle this alone now. Thank God Mom and Dad are the way they are. Otherwise, I'd be in over my head with no way out."  
  
"Can I help you get settled in?" I asked.  
  
"Sure, if you'd like," she smiled at me, " you know, I thought you of all people would be mad at me Ruthie."  
  
"Well, at first when I hear about it, I was shocked. Then a bit upset with you. But I realized you are going to need a lot of support right now. I can't even imagine what this must be like for you. I just want to be there for you, like any sister would," I explained honestly.  
  
"I'm so lucky to have this family," Mary embraced me and sniffled.  
  
(Peter's POV)   
  
I rang the doorbell at the Camden's house.  
  
"Peter, hello," Mr. Camden greeted me," Ruthie is up in the garage apartment with Mary, you can go ahead and go up there."  
  
"Thanks Mr. Camden," I said.  
  
I entered the garage apartment to find Ruthie and her sister unpacking.  
  
"Hey guys," I greeted them.  
  
"Peter!" Ruthie jumped up," I'm glad you came over."  
  
"Hello Peter," Mary said.  
  
"If you guys are busy I can come back," I said quickly noticing the suitcases.  
  
"Oh no, we were just about to take a break," Mary smiled.  
  
"Yeah. Let's go to the house. I think Kevin, Lucy and Sammie and hanging out for dinner," Ruthie led me down the stairs.  
  
We entered the main part of the house to find Simon, Kevin, Mr. and Mrs. Camden, Lucy, Sammie and David talking.  
  
"Hello Ruthie, Peter, come join us," Mrs. Camden said.  
  
"How are you lately Peter?" Lucy asked," haven't seen you around for a few days."  
  
"Well, I have been busy. Loads of homework you know," I rolled my eyes.  
  
Ruthie nodded in agreement.   
  
"I remember middle school, you think that homework is bad, wait until next year when you get to high school," Simon laughed.  
  
Ruthie and I gave eachother an "oh boy" look.  
  
"So we were thinking of sending you kids out to the Dairy Shack," Mr. Camden said, " and by kids I mean Ruthie, Peter, Lucy, Kevin, Simon, David, Mary and Sammie. That way you guys can catch up."  
  
"I'm sure my mom will be okay with that," I said.  
  
"I'll drive you home so you can ask," Kevin told me," Lucy and I need to stop by our house anyway."  
  
"I'll come with you," Ruthie added.  
  
"Well, let me give you some cash," Mr. Camden said to Kevin.  
  
"Dad, you don't have to give us money," Kevin protested.  
  
"I'm not letting you pay for everyone's dinner," Mr. Camden insisted.  
  
I snickered to myself. I always thought it was weird when adults fought over money. I'd rather let someone else pay, but I suppose that may change some day.  
  
"Mary you can drive, if you want," Mrs. Camden handed her a set of keys.  
  
"Okay, David and Simon, we won't leave for a few minutes. Lucy and the rest of them need a head start since they have to make a few stops," Mary explained.  
  
"All right, everyone let's meet at the Dairy Shack in twenty minutes, to give everyone plenty of time to be ready," Kevin decided.  
  
A/N: Once again I apologize for the delay between updates. This whole semester is a little weird. Lots of crazy schedules. Anyway, I will update this story as often as I can. I hope you like my latest chapter. As always, any reviews are appreciated. 


	7. Secret Plans

Chapter 7: Secret Plans  
  
A/N: Okay...so in getting ready to write this chapter I was just re-reading the last chapter. It was kind of boring. For that I apologize, and also for the delay between chapters. It's a busy time of year at school. The good news is I only have about 30 school days left *jumps out of chair and dances around happily*. Can you tell I'm excited?  
  
(Eric's POV)  
  
Once Annie and I got the kids out of the house, we got out our secret ledger. Annie set it down on the desk and went over the numbers we had been keeping track of.   
  
"Well, it looks like we finally have enough money saved," I grinned at my wife.  
  
"So when should we tell the kids about this?" she asked me.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe we should keep it as a surprise," I suggested.  
  
"Oh, but we would have to tell Matt and Sarah. And I guess Lucy and Kevin. So they can clear their schedules. They should be able to keep a secret from the younger kids," Annie explained.  
  
"You're right. We have to tell them, but it's a secret to the rest of them. Do you want to call Matt or should I?" I inquired.  
  
"I'll do it, you can find a time to tell Lucy and Kevin. You know, tell him to drop by and see you at the church or something," Annie said.  
  
"All right then. This should be very fun. I'm getting excited already," I kissed the top of Annie's head.  
  
We replace the ledger marked "Bills 2001" back where it came from. None of the kids would ever find out the secret plans kept in a book marked "Bills". Very boring to them. That was part of why the plan was so well hidden from all of them. I loved having secrets with Annie, especially ones that we successfully keep, our family being so nosy and all. This was the really good kind of secret too.  
  
(A/N: Don't worry. The secret plan will be revealed to you soon enough.)  
  
(Matt's POV)  
  
It was a little bit late when our phone rang.  
  
"Who is it?" I asked Sarah, yawning.  
  
"It's your family," she handed the phone to me.  
  
"Hello," I said.  
  
"Hi Matt. How are you?" my mother asked.  
  
"I'm good, a little bit tired," I told her.  
  
"That's good. I'm sorry to call, I know it's 10 o'clock in New York," I started, then explained the plans to Matt.  
  
"That's a great idea, Mom. You and dad can be real sneaky if you want to! I'll talk it over with Sarah, I'm sure she'll love the idea too," I assured Mom.  
  
"Okay, it was good to hear your voice again. But I'll let you get back to your studies," Mom said.  
  
"Yes, I'll call you again sometime when the kids are in school," I told her," so they don't overhear you."  
  
"Great, I'll expect to hear from you soon. I love you," Mom said.  
  
"Bye mom," I hung the phone up.  
  
"So what's this I hear about your parents being sneaky and needing to talk to me?" Sarah asked.  
  
"Oh you'll like this one," I told her.  
  
(Simon's POV)  
  
Dinner at the Dairy Shack was actually kind of nice. Us kids could talk without our parents around. You have to be more careful about what you say around your parents, and with them out of the picture, we could talk more freely. Everyone got caught up with Mary. She had been through a lot and it seemed very good to have her come home.  
  
"So, have you thought much about names?" Lucy asked.  
  
"No, I mean I've only known for a week," Mary replied.  
  
"Have you been to a doctor?" I asked.  
  
"Yes. I visited one before I called Mom and Dad, just to make sure I was really pregnant. I should probably see one here in Glen Oak," she sighed.  
  
"I'll take you to my doctor," Lucy offered.  
  
"Really? That'd be great," Mary said.  
  
"So, Simon, enough of the girl talk, how's school?" Kevin asked me.  
  
"It's getting better. People don't treat me like I have the plague anymore. It's still not, um you know, normal, but it's so much better. It's nice to get back to normal life," I explained.  
  
"Yeah. At first it doesn't seem so, but life really does go on after hardships and tragedies," he said.  
  
"I know, the first months, it seemed like life would never be normal again. But it's slowly getting more normal. I don't think it will ever be the same, but I don't expect it to," I said, honestly.  
  
"Simon?" Mary asked.  
  
"Yeah," I replied.  
  
"I asked what you thought of me being back here in Glen Oak."  
  
"Oh. It's good. I mean, it'll be awkward for a while, for all of us, but I think it's for the best," I said.  
  
"Oh good. I just want to make sure no one is terribly is upset by my being here. Cause if I'm bothering anyone, I can easily leave again," she hung her head.  
  
"No Mare, you need to be here. To be with your family. We can help you," Ruthie piped up.  
  
"Yeah, it's your home. No matter where you go, you can always come home," I told her.  
  
"Don't go Mary, you just got here," David looked ready to cry.  
  
"Okay, I won't be leaving," Mary hugged her youngest brother," don't you worry about it."  
  
"So if you have a baby it will be my niece?" David asked.  
  
"Or nephew, if it's a boy," I explained.  
  
"Oh. So what's Sammie then?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Sammie is still your niece. Niece just means your brother or sister's child is a girl. Nephew means it's a boy," Kevin explained laughingly.  
  
"I don't get it, but that's okay. Niece. Sammie is my niece," he thought hard, " I can remember that."  
  
I laughed, not so much at David, but because of him. It was cute that he was struggling with the concept.   
  
"Basically, you'll be their uncle. That's all you should worry about," I told him.  
  
"Now I can remember that," David smiled again.  
  
A/N: Okay I stopped it here. Next chapter you will find out about Eric and Annie's secret plans. And don't worry it won't be long before the next chapter is up. I promise it won't be as long as it was this time. I decided to split the chapter in two because it was long. So I'm not quite done with the second half, I had to modify it a bit to make it its own chapter. It will be here soon! 


	8. Surprise!

Chapter 8: Surprise!  
  
A/N: Now you can find out about what their big secret is! Read on:  
  
(Ruthie's POV)  
  
For the past month or so, I've had the feeling that Mom and Dad have been up to something. They've been acting normal, but I've noticed subtle little things that make me suspicious. Someone who isn't as observant as me might not notice, but I do. I'm curious as to just what it is they've got hidden up their sleeve, but my theory goes I'll find out soon enough. It's just sometimes it kills me when people keep secrets.  
  
"Ruthie! Simon! David!" Mom called up the stairs," family meeting in five minutes!"  
  
"Okay, Peter I gotta go, family meeting, I'll talk to you later," I said, hanging up the phone.  
  
I ran down the stairs on Simon's heels. I had the feeling that this was going to be about their big secret. I flopped down on the couch next to David. Mom and Dad were both smiling and as soon as the three of were seated, they began to speak.  
  
"Well kids. We've got some news for you. Your father and I have been saving money for a long time. We have been putting away extra cash in a savings account for years. Just a little bit of cash here and there," Dad started.  
  
"Surprise! We're going on a vacation over Christmas Break!" Mom announced, too excited to hold it in.   
  
"Really! Where?" I asked.  
  
"We've been trying to decide for the last month or so. We finally settled on Hawaii!" Dad told us.  
  
"Awesome!" Simon exclaimed.  
  
"Where's that?" David felt a bit left out.  
  
"It's this sunny, beautiful island," I told him.  
  
"Wow. Sounds fun," David smiled.  
  
"It will be. We'll leave on the first day of your break and spend a whole week there," Mom explained.  
  
"That's next week!" I said.  
  
"Yes, so we had to tell you kids now so you could get ready," Dad told us.  
  
"Whoa. So who all is coming along?" Simon inquired.  
  
"All of us, Matt and Sarah, Lucy, Kevin and Sammie," Mom said.  
  
"Now, Mary's out at her doctor's appointment. She already knows. She's coming along too. We would have waited until Spring Break, but we figured we should go now, while Mary can still fly. We could all use a nice family vacation," Dad added.  
  
"I agree completely," I said," this should be great for us all."  
  
(Lucy's POV)  
  
Kevin and I were really excited to go to Hawaii. We had always wanted to go for our honeymoon, but couldn't afford it. Now we were getting to go, with our family, but with our tickets and hotel paid for. Mom and Dad made us swear not to ask how much it was costing them. They had saved on this for longer than any of had realized. This is how they wanted to use their money.   
  
"This is going to be so fun," I told Kevin as we looked down at our sleeping daughter.  
  
"Yes it is. I'm going to be in Hawaii with the two women I love most, my wife," he kissed my forehead," and my daughter."  
  
"I'm sure my parents will even take Sammie for a while if we need so spend some time alone," I whispered.  
  
"Oh yes. We will have to take them up on that. It's a vacation. We'll have to spend some time alone in beautiful Hawaii," Kevin smiled.  
  
We snuck out of our daughter's bedroom and made our way to our own.  
  
"Your parents are some of the nicest people I know," Kevin said.  
  
"They really are. This must be costing them an arm and a leg! But like they said, they've been saving and this is what they want," I replied.  
  
"You must have been so lucky growing up. I mean having parents like that. That really loved their kids, all seven of them," Kevin sighed happily.  
  
"Yes. I would never give up that experience for anything. I loved my big family growing up. I mean I went through the stage where they embarassed me, but mostly I loved it. Speaking of that...how many kids do you want? I mean for our family," I questioned.  
  
"Oh I don't know."  
  
"You never thought about it?"  
  
"Not really. I mean I guess I'd like a big family. What about you?"  
  
"I was thinking the same. I would love to have a few more kids at least. I mean, we don't have to have 7 like my parents, but a couple more would be nice. It would seem weird to me to have only one kid after growing up with 6 brothers and sisters."  
  
"So...um. When did you want to start having kids again?"  
  
"I don't know. Do you think it's too soon?"  
  
"Not if you don't think so. I mean, you are the one who has to carry the baby for 9 months."  
  
"Well. Sammie's coming up on two years old. I think it's time to start trying again," I said. (A/N: I've got myself all confused on whether she should be one or two. I think I skipped ahead about a year for this story. At any rate, she's one now, but her b-day comes up in the beginning of next year since it's almost Christmas).  
  
"If you're sure that's what you want, I'm okay with it," Kevin agreed.  
  
"I'm sure. I think Mary's pregnancy has made me want to have another baby," I told my husband.  
  
A/N: This chapter was a bit shorter. But 7 and 8 had all been one chapter and I felt it was too long. 


	9. Aloha Camdens!

Chapter 9: Aloha Camdens!  
  
A/N: You'll have to bear with me, I've never been to Hawaii, so my details on it are going to be sketchy and possibly just plain wrong. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I make. I used the website www.gohawaii.com to help my story with some details.  
  
This chapter has been delayed a few times. I had intended to post it Saturday night, but I didn't finish it. Instead I went to Denver University to watch the Pioneers play in the championship game for free. For those who don't follow hockey, the Pioneers defeated the University of Maine 1-0, and are now National Champions. Then I meant to finish it Sunday, but I had to write a play for my creative writing class. So I apologize to readers for pushing this aside, but it's not every day that your favorite local hockey team wins the National Championship :D  
  
Now on to what you've all been looking forward to (Yes, I'm shutting up now!):  
  
(Mary's POV)  
  
The plane touched down in Hawaii at about noon their time. We went to our rented vacation home at Hale Kimo. It was right on the beautiful, white, sandy beachfront. The airport shuttle had brought us directly to the house and they helped us lug our baggage into the house and gave us the number for the nearest car rental place, where they reserved us a minivan. The house itself was pretty big, which was necessary to house all of us Camdens: Matt, Sarah, me, Mom, Dad, Lucy, Kevin, Sammie, Simon, Ruthie and David. It had five bedrooms, I'd be bunking with Ruthie, Lucy with Kevin and Sammie, Simon with David, Mom with Dad and Sarah with Matt. The bedrooms were somewhat cramped, but we wouldn't be spending too much time there, basically only sleeping.  
  
After all the luggage was safely inside, we split up to explore the area. Mom went with Dad to the car rental place, which was just down the street. I slipped out into the backyard. There was a barbeque pit, which I knew we would use later. The under some shady trees there was a large hammock. I made my way over to it and layed down for a few moments.  
  
"Mary?" Ruthie called out.  
  
"Yeah," I sat up.  
  
"I'm heading to the beach with Simon, David and Sammie, did you want to come?" she asked.  
  
"No thanks," I yawned," the flight made me a bit sleepy. I think I'll probably take a little nap."  
  
"All right. We'll see you later," she went back inside the house.   
  
I layed back down on the hammock and admired the sky. The clouds were just drifting by lazily, and for a little while, I felt my troubles all float away. I didn't have to worry about being pregnant, and having to raise a child on my own. That was months away, this was now. I was in Hawaii with my family. What more could anyone ask for?  
  
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, Dad was gently shaking my shoulder.  
  
"Mary?" he said softly.  
  
"Huh? What?" I was confused for a moment.  
  
"You were sleeping Mary. We're all going to go down to the beach. Join us," he said.  
  
"Okay," I yawned," I thought the kids already went down there."  
  
"They did. They only explored for a little while, then came back. Now everyone is going to go down there and hang out for a while," Dad explained.  
  
"Sounds like fun," I smiled.  
  
I followed Dad into the house and dug my swimsuit out of my luggage. I grabbed a book, in case I didn't feel like swimming for long, my sunglasses and some tanning lotion. When I got downstairs, Mom handed me a towel and we all walked the very short walk down to the beach.  
  
(Sarah's POV)  
  
When the Camdens first invited Matt and I on a vacation to Hawaii, I couldn't believe it. I mean, this wasn't exactly to going to be cheap. Of course I was thrilled to be going to Hawaii! Practically everyone dreams of going there sometime, but I never figured I could afford it. Matt and I were both lucky enough to get time away from work to go on the family vacation.   
  
We arrived in Hawaii on a beautiful day. Although, I'd imagine all days are beautiful in Hawaii. Shortly after we all got settled in to the vacation house, we all decided to go and visit the beach. It was about a minute's walk down to the beach from the house. We found a nice spot and set up a big beach umbrella and Lucy spread out a blanket for her daughter to sit on. Everyone staked out a spot for themselves and then all of us went down for a little swim.  
  
I didn't stay too long. I was pretty tired from all the flying I had done, first New York to California, then California to Hawaii. So I went up on the beach to lay out and read a good book. Mary followed me shortly and sat quietly on a beach towel, reading her book.  
  
"So what are you reading?" I asked.  
  
"Oh just some novel I picked up at the airport," she said," you?"  
  
"I'm reading a Stephen King. Have you ever read one? They're creepy, but good," I told her.  
  
"No, but I've heard that some of them are pretty out there," Mary stated.  
  
"Yeah, but I love them," I grinned. (A/N: I don't know about anyone else, but I LOVE Stephen King novels)  
  
"Hmm. I'll have to read one sometime," Mary said.  
  
Matt came running up the beach," Hey! Why are you just laying around reading a book?"  
  
"I like reading," I told him.  
  
"You can read anytime! This is Hawaii! Let's do something fun," Matt proclaimed.  
  
"Oh all right," I let him drag me up to my feet.  
  
He led me down the beach and we spotted some tiny seashells. He picked up on of the larger ones and pressed it to his ear. He gave me a funny look and said," I don't hear the ocean in here!"  
  
"That's just an old wive's tale!" I swatted him playfully," besides the real thing is right there, what do you want to hear it in the shell for?"  
  
"Sarah! Matt! Come on, we're gonna play tag!"  
  
(David's POV)  
  
We have only been here in Hawaii for a few hours, but it is already the best place I have ever been to. There's a beach right outside our house. Ruthie and Simon took me and Samantha down to the beach right after we got to the house. Mommy and Daddy had to go get a car. Lucy and Kevin were putting things away in their bedroom. I thought it was silly to unpack. Who wants to do that when there's a beach almost in your back yard.   
  
We didn't stay at the beach for long, but when we got home, Mommy and Daddy said we were going again. Everyone came along this time. We all got together and played tag in the water. It was very fun. Lucy got tired and went up on the beach to lay down. Kevin still wanted her to play with us, so he picked her up and carried her down to the water and dumped her in. It was very funny. She was screaming the whole time.   
  
Most of the adults got tired and went to lay down and watch us kids. We got tired of the water after a while and decided to throw a frisby around.  
  
"Jump David," Simon hollered to me.  
  
"I got it! I caught it!" I shouted back.  
  
This time I threw the frisby as hard as I could to Ruthie. Right before it got to her, it curved away and she had to run down to the water to get it.  
  
"David," Lucy called out," come here a minute."  
  
I went to see what she wanted. She was sitting in the sand with Sammie and in front of them was a little sand castle.   
  
"Whatcha doing?" I asked.  
  
"Building a sandcastle. I thought it would be fun if you helped us," Lucy patted the sand next to her.  
  
"Hewp us Davie," Sammie giggled.  
  
She calls me "Davie" because she can't say David yet. I don't think it's a hard name to say, but she is really little, so it might be hard for her. I grabbed a sand pail and a bucket to help with the castle. I told Simon and Ruthie that I was helping them, so they could play by themselves.  
  
Lucy just sat back and let me help Sammie. I had the castle really big. I was about to make the third level when Sammie knocked it over.  
  
"Samm-IE!" I groaned.  
  
"Sowwy Davie," she hugged me.  
  
I couldn't be mad at her. She didn't mean to break the castle, and it was very hard to be mad at her anyway.   
  
"It's okay," I said," it was just a little castle." 


	10. Fun in the Sun

Chapter 10: Fun in the Sun  
  
(Annie's POV)  
  
We spent our first day in Hawaii just hanging out together on the beach. Then we had a barbecue. The next day, everyone planned to split up and do things on their own. I was going to take Ruthie to swim with dolphins in Waikoloa. I knew she was excited and I was sure it would be a unique experience.  
  
"So we actually get to swim with dolphins?" she asked.  
  
"Yes. That's what the brochure said. First they give you a little bit of instruction on how to interact with the dolphins. Then they let us go in the water and we get to swim with and pet the dolphins," I explained.  
  
"This is going to be so cool," Ruthie said," how many people can say that they have swam with dolphins?"  
  
"Well, after today, you and I will be able to. And you're sure none of the other kids were interested?" I asked one last time.   
  
"No, they all had plans to go elsewhere," she shook her head.  
  
"Oh well, then that's their loss," I told her.  
  
"I think Matt, Simon and Kevin were going to surfing. I'm not sure where Lucy and Sarah were going, but they were taking the kids. I think Mary might have been going with them. And I think Dad said something about fishing at Molokai," Ruthie listed off everyone's plans.   
  
"Before we go, I'd like to know where the girls are going. I'll go ask them, you make sure we've got everything they said to bring on that checklist," I instructed.  
  
(Simon's POV)  
  
Our second day in Hawaii was great. I went with the guys to hang out on the beach and learn to surf. We got an instructor to work with the three of us (Matt, Kevin and me). We started out slowly on the beach, practicing the techniques on how to get up on the board and keep your balance on the water. I thought that the first part was very boring. Then we actually got to go out on the water, I was glad we had the instruction because it was a lot harder than it looked.  
  
After several hours of trying to surf, and I say trying because none of us were very successful, we all went to lay out on the beach and rest for a while. I was about to fall asleep when a shadow moved over my body. I sat up to see a very good looking girl smiling at me.   
  
"Hi," she greeted me," My name is Allie, what's yours?"  
  
"I'm Simon," I replied.  
  
"Well Simon, my friends and I were watching you and your friends try to surf," she laughed," and we noticed you were struggling a bit."  
  
"Yeah, you could say that," I smiled.  
  
"Anyway, I thought you were very cute. Even if you can't surf very well," she was still laughing a bit," wanna come hang out with us?"  
  
"Um, I'd like to but-," I started.  
  
"Go, you're on vacation, have fun," Matt waved me off.  
  
"Okay, I'll meet you back at the hotel later," I said as the beautiful girl lead me over to a group of young people hanging out with surfboards.  
  
"Everyone, this is Simon," Allie introduced me to her friends.  
  
"Hi Simon," one boy said," where are you from?"  
  
"I'm from California," I told the group.  
  
"Really? That's so cool," Allie said," we're all on our Christmas break from Vermont."  
  
"We decided we needed a break from the snow and skiing," a guy laughed," but I guess you don't get much snow in California do you? My name's Mark by the way."  
  
I sat down next to the group of friends and said," No we don't really get much snow. I'm on vacation with my family."  
  
"Oh, so who was that hot blonde guy you were with? Your brother?" a girl with black hair asked.  
  
"That's Kevin. He's my sister's husband. And the other guy was Matt, my older brother, also married," I explained.  
  
"Got any other hot brothers?" the girl pressed.  
  
"Leila, knock it off!" Allie hissed.  
  
"What? He's very good looking and so is his brother. So?" she grinned at me.  
  
"I'm afraid my other brother is only 5 years old," I laughed as Leila's face fell.  
  
"How many siblings do you have?" Mark asked me.  
  
"Well, I have six, or um, five," I corrected myself.  
  
The group gave me a funny look.  
  
"My younger brother I just mentioned, had a twin. He was killed in a car accident," I lowered my eyes.  
  
"Oh. Wow, I'm sorry," Mark started.  
  
"No, it's okay. You couldn't have known. I still have a younger brother, a younger sister, two older sisters and my older brother who you saw earlier," I explained.  
  
"So, it must be pretty interesting growing up around so many kids," Allie said.  
  
"Yeah. My house was never slow. There were always people coming and going," I smiled at my childhood memories.  
  
"Most of us are only kids," the other boy said," and I'm Aaron, by the way."  
  
"Just Leila here, who has a younger sister. The rest of us come from small families. Your family must be very fascinating," Mark said.  
  
"It's never dull around my house, that's to say the least. Actually, lately things have slowed down though. My sister and her husband moved out. And then my other sister just moved in, so I bet things are going to be wild again."  
  
I don't know why, but I felt very comfortable talking to complete strangers about my family. I guess it just felt good to be hanging out with people my own age again. We all seemed to really click. We all had to split, I had to go to the vacation house and they had to go to their hotel, but we exchanged addresses and phone numbers so we could hang out again before we all had to leave. They were planning on going to a luau and wanted me to come.  
  
(Lucy's POV)   
  
Mary, Sarah and I decided to take Sammie and David for the day. We knew Mom and Dad needed some time away from the little ones. This was, afterall, a vacation. I decided it would be a good idea to take them to an aquarium. I knew that they would enjoy the fish. We went to the Maui Ocean Center, Inc. They gave a 2 hour tour and served lunch afterwards (not seafood!).   
  
The tour was a little long for Sammie, but she really liked seeing all the big "fishies". Even Sarah, Mary and I were impressed by some of the fish. There were lots of tropical fish we'd never seen before. The kids really enjoyed themselves. And I enjoyed spending time with Mary and Sarah. I hadn't spent much time with them recently. After lunch, we all went to the beach again.  
  
David and Sammie ran around for a while, then they wanted to swim. So we took them down to the water. They just splashed around a lot, but they seemed to enjoy eachother's company.  
  
"Momma!" Sammie jumped at me.  
  
"What sweetie?" I asked, picking her up in my arms.  
  
"Fun!" she giggled happily.  
  
"Yes, this is very fun," I told her, kissing her forehead before setting her back down in the water.  
  
"Let's play tag!" David exclaimed.  
  
"All right," Sarah said," I'm It first!"  
  
"You'll never catch me," David squeeled as he tried to run away.  
  
Of course he didn't realize how hard it was to run underwater, so Sarah caught him quickly. David decided his target was going to be Mary. He chased her around in circles and finally gave up and tagged Sammie.  
  
"Hahaha! You're it Sammie. That means you have to tag someone," David explained to her.  
  
She tried to catch him, but he was too quick for her. So she came after me. I ran really slowly so that she could catch me. She did and was very pleased with herself.  
  
"I got Mommy!" she laughed.  
  
"Oh no, you better run, or I'm gonna get you again!" I teased her.  
  
She ran away from me as fast as her little legs could carry her. She darted away from me and I turned to chase Mary.  
  
"You'll never catch me, little Sister!" she laughed and turned suddenly, causing me to stumble over a rock and fall headfirst into the water.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Mare!" I shouted, sopping wet, but laughing.  
  
A/N: Wow, some characters I actually own, Simon's new friends are all my own creations and of course Sammie is still mine, so don't steal them! I don't like to threaten my readers for reviews, so review or don't but either way, I'll continue the story when I'm ready. All reviews are welcomed, good or bad. 


	11. An Amazing Day

Chapter 11: An Amazing Day  
  
A/N: I usually try not to do the story in the same person's POV twice in a row, but I made an exception in this case because I had been intending all along for this chapter to be about Lucy and Kevin.  
  
(Lucy's POV)  
  
Kevin woke me up early this morning. We went to sit out on the beach to watch the sunrise. He said he had a whole romantic day planned and that Mom and Dad would watch Sammie for us. I was very sleepy, but I woke up and went with him anyway. I didn't regret it. It had to be the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen, especially because I saw it with Kevin.   
  
He wouldn't tell me what his plans were, but insisted upon being mysterious. I was in a good mood and didn't argue. There were times when I would have tried to argue it out of him, but I like to think I'm a lot more mature now. These last few years had really changed us all. Besides, it was far more romantic not knowing where he was taking me.  
  
"Okay Luce, the sunrise was the first surprise today. Next we're going to take a tour of the islands- from the air!" Kevin told me excitedly.  
  
"Really? Where will we go exactly?" I asked with curiosity.  
  
"They fly us all over the place, but this company, Island Hoppers, specializes in flights over the volcanoes and waterfalls. There's supposed to be some really amazing scenery. AND they make a tape for us, so we can always remember our flight," Kevin explained.  
  
"Sounds fantastic," I smiled up at him.  
  
"The flight should take about two hours, according to their brochure. That means we'll be done at about 10 AM. Then I have more plans already arranged. But you don't need to know about those yet," he winked at me.  
  
"Oh Kev, wherever you take me, it doesn't matter, as long as we're together," I kissed him passionately.   
  
We had reached the airport. It was a very small place. I only saw 7 airplanes. I was a little surprised, for some reason, I had expected a bigger place. A man came out to greet us.  
  
"Ah you must be the Kinkirks," he said," the name's Fred Kona. I'll be your pilot this morning."  
  
"Hello, I'm Kevin and this is my wife, Lucy," Kevin introduced us both to the man.  
  
"Well, are you two ready to go?" Fred asked us.  
  
"Yep," I replied.  
  
"All right. Now did you two have any particular places you wanted to see?" Fred led us toward his plane.  
  
"Uh, nope. We'll go wherever you take us," Kevin told him.  
  
"Okay, this is Sandra Brown, she's going to help make the video. We have cameras mounted all over the plane, inside and out. We'll capture footage of you two and the view and by the time we come back, she should have your video all edited and ready to go. Any questions before we board the plane?" Fred questioned.  
  
"No, I don't think so," Kevin responded, " do you have any questions honey?"  
  
"Nope, I'm ready to go," I said.  
  
"Well then, let's get this show on the road- er- up in the air I suppose," Fred laughed.  
  
Approximately two and half hours the plane touched back down at the airport. The sights we had seen were breathtakingly beautiful. We flew over a volcano where we could actually see a little bit of lava flowing out. Then we flew past several waterfalls. I had never seen such amazing views before. I couldn't believe the wonderful day I was having and it was only 10:30 AM.   
  
"Off to our next surprise," Kevin smiled at me.  
  
"I hope it's as good as that plane ride was," I said.  
  
"Oh I hope so too," Kevin agreed.  
  
Kevin pulled into a parking lot and I was confused. It was just a building with a lot of bikes parked out front. Behind the building was solid rainforest.  
  
"So, um can I ask what we're doing now?" I asked.  
  
"We're going for a bike ride through the rain forest," Kevin explained.  
  
"Oh," I smacked my forehead lightly. It should have been obvious when I saw the bikes.  
  
"Is that okay?" Kevin asked me.  
  
"Yes it's fine! It should be very fun," I said.  
  
We went to check in inside the building. They gave us a map of the bike paths through the rainforest, the route Kevin had apparently planned out highlighted. Then they gave us all our biking gear and we got to pick bikes of the rack in the front. We were soon on our way. As we biked through the forest, pedaling side by side, we saw lots of birds and pretty flowers. The trees were tall and created a lot of shade. I was really enjoying myself when Kevin suddenly veered off the path.  
  
"Kevin! Where are you going?" I called after him.  
  
"Follow me, I know what I'm doing," he shouted back.   
  
I cautiously steered my bike through the trees and was surprised to find a clearing. Kevin was leaning his bike against a tree. In the center of the clearing, there was a picnic blanket spread out with a basket in the center.   
  
"Did you really plan this all out?" I asked, amazed.  
  
"Yep. I talked to them yesterday, they sent someone out right ahead of us to come set up the picnic for us. At no extra charge. They were really nice about it. I hope you're hungry," Kevin gestured to the basket of food.  
  
"You bet I am," I said, realizing it had been hours since breakfast.  
  
(Kevin's POV)  
  
I could tell that Lucy was thouroughly enjoying every minute of the day I had planned out. She didn't even know what else was in store for her. She also didn't realize how much trouble I had gone to make my plans and keep them secret. It was all worth it though because I love her.  
  
After the picnic, we left the bikes and gear and hiked along a path that was slowly steering us towards a beach. When we finally broke through the trees, Lucy seemed surprised to find that we were on a beach. She gave me a quizzical look.   
  
"Snorkeling," I told her.  
  
"Really? Wow! This is going to be so fun. Kevin, you are amazing. I can't believe all the plans you made for us," she kissed me.  
  
"I'd do anything for the woman I love," I replied.  
  
We found a small hut where there was snorkeling gear and a man who was to be our guide. He showed us the proper techniques and then we headed out to the ocean in a small boat. Then we dove into the water and he lead us around. We saw lots of colorful tropical fish and even some sea turtles. Everything about Hawaii was wonderful. I loved sharing it with the love of my life too.  
  
As we were riding back to the shore, Lucy and I sat in the back of the boat.  
  
"Kev, you are the greatest. I still can't believe you did all this for me," Lucy had a look of pure love in her eyes.   
  
"Look! Whales!" Our guide pointed to the west.   
  
Sure enough there were some whales jumping out of the water. They sprayed water all over, but they were far enough away that we didn't get wet. We were soon back on the land.   
  
"We have one more thing to do before we head back home," I told Lucy," I hope you're not too tired yet."  
  
"I'm getting a little tired, but I'm fine," she said.  
  
"Good. Because now, we are going to go sailing," I explained.  
  
"We just went out on a boat," Lucy looked at me funny.  
  
"Yeah, but that was different. We didn't go very far and we were going to snorkel. This is just going to be a lay back and relax type thing," I told her.  
  
"Okay. I'm game," she said.  
  
When we got on the sailboat, we both found a spot to lay down in the back. We layed so that we could see out into the water and Lucy could rest her head on my chest. By the time our boat ride was over, we were almost asleep. It had been very relaxing and a perfect cap to a perfect day. It was still early, but we were tired.  
  
We drove back to the vacation house in relative peace. I think we were both still processing all that had gone on today. We did a lot and saw a lot. I really enjoyed myself and I think Lucy did too. She kept saying how much fun she was having. When we pulled back into the driveway, I stopped the engine. I looked over at an almost asleep Lucy.  
  
"We're back," I gently shook her.  
  
She yawned," Oh. Kevin, I can't tell you enough times how much I love you. Today was the best day of my life with you."  
  
"I love you too, Luce. Let's go inside," I got out to open her door for her.  
  
Once inside the house, it was clear that everyone was about to go out.   
  
"Where are you all going?" Lucy asked.  
  
"We're going to a luau," Simon explained," my friends invited us."  
  
"Yeah, would you like to come along?" Eric asked.  
  
"Um," I looked at Lucy.  
  
She gave me a look, I knew immediately what it meant.  
  
"I think we'll stay here. I'm tired," Lucy yawned.  
  
"Oh," Annie gave a knowing look to Eric," well, sorry you guys will miss out. We'll see you later. Or tomorrow if you're asleep when we get home."  
  
"Bye Lucy, Kevin," Ruthie smiled as she carried Sammie outside, closely followed by David.  
  
It seemed like David was becoming attached to Sammie. He hadn't had many friends and had seemed too sad for a five year old since his brother died. Now he seemed to have a new best friend, his niece. Everyone else quickly followed Ruthie and the kids out the door, all saying a quick goodbye.  
  
"Well, we're all alone now. What do you want to do?" I asked Lucy.  
  
"I think you know," she grinned suggestively and dragged me to our bedroom.   
  
A/N: I have a few personal comments for my reviewers.  
  
Mudd1: Yes, I will. No, I don't really care if someone uses the name Sammie or any other character's name. I technically don't own them because I don't have a copyright. I'd appreciate if no one stole their personalities though.  
  
Evelyn5: You must be a mind-reader. I had been planning a chapter on Lucy and Kevin for a while now. I hope you enjoyed it.  
  
To All: Thanks for the reviews. I always like to read them. I'm glad most of you are reading and liking my story. 


	12. More Hawaiian Fun

Chapter 12: More Hawaiian Fun  
  
(Simon's POV)  
  
When we got to the beach I introduced my family to my friends. Everyone shook hands, which took a while considering the number of people. We chatted for a little while. Then Mark suggested we take off and get something to eat.   
  
"Okay, bye Simon, have fun," Mom sent us off.  
  
"I will. I'll meet you back at the house later tonight," I said as Allie dragged me away.  
  
"Wow, your family is so big," Leila said.  
  
"And that's not even all of them," I said," my other sister, Lucy and Kevin, who you guys already saw, are back at the house. They were out all day and didn't feel like coming with us."  
  
"It must be quite different having that many people coming and going from your house all the time," Aaron raised his eyebrows.  
  
"It's fun. Busy, but at least you were never lonely," I laughed," though sometimes I wish I would have had more privacy. They're crazy, but I love them."  
  
"Hey Simon, let's dance!" Allie drug me to the firepit were people dressed in Hawaiian traditional costumes were dancing.  
  
"I can't dance like that!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Silly, you don't have to. Let's just dance to the music," Allie said.  
  
Leila and Mark started dancing next to us and Aaron found a young Hawaiian girl to dance with. We had a great time. Then we went to get something to eat. It felt so good to hang out with people who didn't judge me for trying to kill myself. They didn't need to know and we were just having a blast. Mom and dad and everyone else appeared to be enjoying themselves too. I love dad for bringing us to Hawaii, we really needed this as a family.   
  
(Matt's POV)  
  
Sarah and I were having a good time, just watching the sun set. We were laying near the water on the sand. It was so relaxing. Of course there was lots of action around us: barbecues, music, dancing, people having fun. It was wonderful. We really needed the break from medical school.   
  
"Hey Matt, Sarah, come join us," Ruthie shouted.  
  
"Shall we go?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, we've layed around long enough. It's time to have fun," Sarah said.  
  
I helped her up and lead her to where everyone else was watching the Hawaiian dancers. The music had a really fast pace and the dancers were really shaking their hips.  
  
"I don't think I could do that," I whispered to Sarah.  
  
"Sure you could," she giggled as she jumped up and drug me to join the dancers.  
  
"Sarah no!" I tried to pull away.  
  
"Come on Matt, loosen up a bit," she smiled sweetly at me.   
  
I looked to the rest of the family for help. They just nodded for me to join in. Ruthie and the younger kids jumped up to join in the fun. I finally gave in and watched the dancers to see how the dance went. I started dancing and Sarah and my parents were cracking up.  
  
"All right, that's it, I'm not dancing again!" I ran back to sit down.   
  
"Oh Matt, we weren't laughing at you," Mom was still laughing a bit.  
  
"Yeah sure you weren't. I'd like to see you and Dad dance!" I told her.  
  
Dad jumped up and pulled Mom over to join the kids. They all looked ridiculous. I was cracking up so hard tears were running down my face. I fell over on my side and they all ran away from me. They went over to one of the barbecue pits to get food.  
  
"Hey wait for me!" I shouted as I chased them down.  
  
(David's POV)   
  
Tonight was really fun. We danced and swam and ate good food. We listened to music and had a good time. We stayed out really late. No one seemed to mind that Sammie and I were up past our bedtimes. The moon came out and it was huge and yellow. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. Even all the strangers.  
  
We all got flower necklaces. I can't remember the name of them. I danced with Sammie because she was the closest kid to my age at the party.  
  
"Sammie, will you dance with me?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, Dance!" she giggled.  
  
"Come on," I pulled her to where Matt and Sarah were dancing. Then Ruthie joined us.   
  
We had a lot of fun. Then Matt got upset and he sat down. So everyone else got up to dance too. Matt was laughing so hard he was crying. So we all decided to run away with out him. He started yelling and chasing after us. We got some food to eat and then I started to get sleepy.   
  
I think I fell asleep in the sand. I don't remember going home last night, but I woke up in my bed. I think maybe Daddy or Mommy carried me home.   
  
(Mary's POV)  
  
The day after the luau, I cornered Lucy. I needed to have a sisterly talk with her. She woke up really late, apparently her day had been really long and tiring. That really wasn't my business. I just wanted to talk.  
  
"Hey Lucy," I said," do you think we can talk?"  
  
"Sure Mare, what is it?" she cheerily replied.   
  
"Come on, not in here," I lead her out to the hammock.   
  
"Okay," she followed me and sat next to me on the hammock," so what did you want to talk about Mary?"  
  
"Well, I'm scared," I sighed," I mean about having a baby. I don't think I can handle it!"  
  
"Oh Mary, everyone gets scared," Lucy explained, " I was scared, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, but you have Kevin around. I'm going to be all by myself," I sniffled.  
  
"Don't cry Mare, we'll all be here for you," Lucy told me.  
  
"I can't help it," I cried," I'm just so...I don't know what to do. Did it hurt? Giving birth I mean?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but not so bad I couldn't handle it. I mean it was like nothing else, but it's not so horrible," Lucy tried to describe it to me.  
  
"God, why am I such a screw up?" I asked," everything I do is wrong!"  
  
"Mary, you are not a screw up. You just don't always make the best decisions. Nobody ever does everything right," Lucy comforted.  
  
"But I am! I do so many things wrong. Look at you, you are married, have a wonderful loving husband and a beautiful child, your own home! What do I have? I'm all alone, pregnant, and I just had to move back in with our parents," I sobbed.   
  
"Mary, stop it! You are not a screw up. I'm sure that everything will be okay. Once you have the baby you'll calm down. It will be hard, but Mom and Dad will be there to help you. You just have to stop giving yourself such a hard time," Lucy hugged me.   
  
"Thanks Luce, I needed to hear that," I sniffled.   
  
She handed me a Kleenex and told me I would be okay.   
  
(Eric's POV)  
  
Today Annie and I took a day to ourselves. Lucy and Kevin agreed to stay home with the kids. Since it was a vacation, we did need to take a day to just relax. I asked Annie what she wanted to do. She didn't care, so we just went to lay around on the beach for a while. We find a nice private spot on the beach and spread out our towels in the shade of a large rock.   
  
"Eric?" Annie asked.  
  
"Yeah, hon," I replied.  
  
"Thanks for this vacation," she kissed me.  
  
"I think it's doing the family good," I replied.  
  
"So, what else are we going to do? I don't want to just lay around all day," she sat up.  
  
"Oh there's lots of stuff to do," I sat up too," hiking, swimming, the plane ride like Lucy and Kevin went on, a boat ride too."  
  
"Hmm. That sounds nice, a boat ride, don't you think so?" she inquired.  
  
"Yep. I read about a place that rents sailboats. What do you think?" I questioned.  
  
"A sailboat sounds lovely, dear," she gathered up our towels.   
  
We went back to the house and I took the car to the sailboat rental place. I rented a boat while Annie made us a picnic lunch. She even grabbed a camera and a couple of fishing poles. When I returned to pick her up, Simon came to ask if he could take Ruthie out for a few hours. I told him it was fine.  
  
Annie and I took the sailboat out a way into the bay where we rented it from. We found a good spot to stop and she got out the fishing poles.   
  
"I know you like to fish dear, and I thought you could teach me to," she handed me a pole.  
  
"All right," I said," fishing it is."  
  
A/N: So sorry for the rather long delay between updates. It was the last few weeks of school and things got a bit hectic. Tons of homework and finals and all that junk. Fortunately, yesterday was my last day of school! High school is over! I'll be graduating next week, so since I'm out of school, I'll probably have more time to update this story. I appreciate your patience and all reviews are greatly appreciated. I think the next chapter will be the final one in Hawaii. 


	13. Horses

Chapter 13: Horses  
  
(Ruthie's POV)  
  
I was quite surprised after lunch today when Simon said he was taking me somewhere. I had been so busy helping babysit that I almost forgot that this was our vacation. He was being very mysterious about where he was taking me, but he said I would love it.  
  
"Okay, Ruthie, we're almost there," Simon told me.  
  
"Yeah, but almost where?" I asked, emphasizing the last word.   
  
"Okay, since you'll figure it out when we get there, I guess I can tell you. I rented two horses for the day. We're going horseback riding," Simon said.  
  
"Really?" I was surprised," Simon, that sounds so fun."   
  
"I told you you'd like it," he smiled at me.   
  
"This will be great, I bet we'll see some beautiful views along the way. Is there a specific trail to ride on?" I asked with curiosity.  
  
"Well, there's a trail that goes through a rainforest, past a volcano, across a beach and then back through the rainforest to a place where we drop off the horses," Simon explained," and remember, the horses are ours all day, so we can take our time if we want."  
  
"Thanks Simon, you are a great brother," I leaned over to hug him. He knew this was just I would love to spend a day doing.   
  
When we arrived at the stalls, a man came out and introduced to our horses and gave us maps to show us where our trail would lead. Simon was riding a black horse named Mickey and I was riding a white horse named Donald. I thought they were strange names for horses, but the man explained that all of their horses were named after Disney characters. He explained a few things to us and then we set off on the trail.  
  
"I hope you don't mind that these horses are really gentle," Simon said," but I don't know anything about riding."  
  
"It's okay. I won't mind not having too much work to do. This is just supposed to be fun and relaxing right?" I asked as my horse caught up to his.  
  
"Yeah, exactly. Fun and relaxing," Simon repeated.  
  
After about 20 minutes the trees to our right cleared and there was a waterfall.  
  
"Oh wow, that's beautiful, look at that waterfall. It's so perfect and serene," I observed.  
  
"Yeah, this spot is so tranquil," Simon agreed," there are some really beautiful places in Hawaii."  
  
"When we get back, remind me to thank Dad for this vacation again," I said," I've been having the best time of my life."  
  
"I think that was the point of this too, for us to all enjoy ourselves and subtly let our minds get off all the bad things that have happened to us in the last years," Simon said.  
  
The horses were moving slowly along the trail and there were some spots where the trail was only wide enough for one horse to pass at a time. My horse always dropped back to let Simon's go first. We had a bit of a scare when Simon's horse decided he wanted to try and rub Simon off on a tree. It turned out Mickey only had an itch on his side, but Simon was pretty sure his horse was trying to get rid of him. I found it somewhat comical, even though it scared Simon.   
  
We came around a bend and up ahead was a mountain.  
  
"According to the map, that should be the volcano," I said.  
  
"I don't know what I expected, but it just looks like a regular mountain," Simon told me," you know, I thought, I don't know, but this is just a plain old mountain."   
  
"I bet if we climbed to the top there'd be a big hole in the top," I theorized.  
  
"You know," Simon laughed," there was a day when I bet we both would have wanted to climb up there and check it out. We sure got into some trouble when we were younger."  
  
"Oh I know," I smiled," I always wanted to follow you and do whatever you were doing. You were so cool when I was younger, I always wanted to be like you."  
  
"Sometimes I miss those days," Simon reminisced.  
  
"Yeah, but I'm glad we're older now and we can have days like today too," I said.   
  
"Good point, I don't think I'd trade today for the past," Simon thought out loud.  
  
"Hey look, is that Mom and Dad coming towards us?" I asked.  
  
"Where?" Simon started," whoa, I think it is. I didn't know they were going horseback riding too!"  
  
(Annie's POV)  
  
After fishing, Eric and I decided to go horseback riding. It sounded like a very romantic idea. The fishing hadn't gone so well, as I accidentally lost my pole. I had dropped it into the ocean and Eric didn't think we could get it back. So we had our lunch and sailed back to shore. The woman at the boat rental house told us about a horse stall in the forest a little ways. So we decided to take a ride through the forest.  
  
The scenery along the way was beautiful. Everything was vibrant and green. There banana trees off to one side of the path and we were told it was okay to pick some. I found the brightest yellow bananas I could and put them into the saddlebag. Our horses were very patient when we got off to pick the bananas. They just waited on the path as if they had done this hundreds of times. We mounted the horses again and came across the volcano that was supposed to be on the trail. I spotted some young people coming in our direction.  
  
"Eric, is it just me, or does that look like Simon and Ruthie?" I asked, very surprised to see them.  
  
"You know what hon, I think it is them," he sounded just as surprised.  
  
"Well, he said he wanted to take her out, are you shocked he took her to horse?" I laughed.  
  
"I guess not, Ruthie loves horses," Eric smiled.  
  
Simon and Ruthie road up to us and Simon said," Mom, Dad, I didn't know you guys were riding horses."  
  
"We didn't originally plan on it," Eric explained," but a woman told us about this place that rented horses and we decided it would be something really fun to do."  
  
"Simon brought me riding because he knows I love horses and I've been helping watch the kids the whole time. I really needed this break. It is vacation after all," Ruthie said.  
  
"Well, you have to admit it is pretty funny that we all ran into eachother out here," I laughed," I mean, what are the odds?"  
  
"It is pretty funny that we all ended up coming to the same place," Simon laughed too.  
  
We all had a laugh about how similar our tastes must be. We stopped to sit on rocks and enjoy the scenery for a while longer. As we sat, quite a few exotic birds flew over our heads. Ruthie and I spotted a bright blue parrot-looking bird sitting in a tree just on the other side of the path. All of us were really enjoying ourselves.  
  
"I think it's about time we split up again," Ruthie suggested.  
  
"Okay, well we'll see you kids back at the house later," I waved to them as they rode away.  
  
"I'm glad Simon brought her out to have fun," Eric said," because since you two swam with the dolphins, she has been just watching the kids. I know she loves to do that, but I think this ride will be good for her."  
  
"I agree completely," I said.  
  
(Sarah's POV)   
  
Lucy, Matt, Mary, Kevin and I had the task of watching Sammie and David today. After lunch we decided to take them to a petting zoo that wasn't too far from the vacation house. We rode the bus to the zoo and Sammie's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the animals. It kind of made me want to have my own baby, but I knew it was too much in the middle of medical school to have a child. I enjoyed playing with my neice for the time being.   
  
David wanted to ride the ponies and so of course Sammie wanted to as well. She wanted to do everything that he did. So the zookeeper let David ride with Sammie in front of him. It was so cute watching the kids having fun together. The pangs of wanting a child hit me again. I must have looked funny because Matt pulled me aside.  
  
"Are you okay Sarah?" he asked me.  
  
"Oh I was just thinking," I said," watching them makes me want to have a baby."  
  
"Really?" Matt seemed surprised.  
  
"I know we don't want to have them while we're in medical school and all, but seeing those two makes me want my own, you know," I explained.  
  
"Well, I was kind of thinking the same things," Matt said," seeing Lucy and Kevin with their baby, they're just so happy."   
  
"But we have to remember, we're both in medical school, we don't have time for kids just yet," I sighed," give it another couple years."  
  
"You're right, now's still not the right time," Matt kissed me.  
  
"One day we will be parents though," I smiled.  
  
Matt walked back to join the others and Mary came over to me.  
  
"Hi," she started.  
  
"Hey Mary," I replied.  
  
"I was just noticing how you were looking at the kids," she said.  
  
"Oh, Matt and I were just talking about how cute they are," I smiled at them. They were awfully cute.   
  
"I just can't believe I'm going to have one of my own so soon," Mary continued," I wasn't sure if I was ready until I talked to Lucy. She has me convinced I'll be okay. It's just scary because I'm alone. Lucy has Kevin, if you and Matt had kids, you have eachother. I've always got the family, but I'm still nervous."  
  
"You'll do fine," I told her," I've seen lots of new mothers, working in the hospital, and they're all scared, but once the baby is born, they just seem to be okay. They're not afraid anymore," I told her.  
  
"Yeah, those two sure like eachother," Mary gestured at Sammie and David giggling on the pony's back," at least I know my kid will have someone to play with. Now that I'm living here."  
  
"That's the best thing about a big family, you're never worried about not having someone else around," I agreed.  
  
David and Sammie got down from the pony and David ran over to us.  
  
"That was so fun Mary!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Was it?" she asked.  
  
"Too bad you're a grown-up, or I think you'd have fun too," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I think I'm a little too big for riding ponies," Mary laughed.  
  
David grabbed her hand and pulled her over to pet another animal. I rejoined Matt and we watched the kids running around, excitedly petting all the animals.   
  
A/N: I think that was the last of the chapters in Hawaii, next chapter will be everyone going home. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading my story. 


	14. Back Home

Chapter 14: Back Home  
  
(No POV)  
  
The Camdens all returned to Glen Oak after spending their Christmas in Hawaii. Matt and Sarah stayed through New Year's Day and then had to go back to New York. Life returned to normal for the Camdens.  
  
A couple weeks later....  
  
(Lucy's POV)  
  
Kevin and I met with Roxanne and her latest boyfriend for dinner. Ruthie babysat Sammie for us because Mary was getting pretty big and she didn't need the stress of a toddler. Everyone was trying not to make Mary stress out so that the last part of her pregnancy would be as easy as possible.  
  
When we got home Kevin took Ruthie home. Then when he got back, we were both very tired from our night out.  
  
"I'm tired," Kevin said with a yawn.  
  
"Oh me too," I yawned as well.  
  
"Not sleepy," Sammie crossed her arms.  
  
Kevin rolled his eyes," Yes you are, I saw you trying not to fall asleep in the back seat, silly."  
  
"No! I not sleepy!" Sammie scowled at her father.  
  
Kevin bent down to Sammie's level and began to tickle her. She rolled around on the floor, squeeling with laughter.  
  
"Daddy no! Not fair," she screamed.  
  
"Are you sleepy?" he asked her again.  
  
"Fine I sleepy!" she howled," stop tickling me!"  
  
"You promise you'll go to bed?" he tickled her one final time.  
  
"Yes," Sammie jumped up and planted a sloppy kiss on her father's forehead.  
  
"Okay you two," I said," is Daddy going to put Sammie in bed?"  
  
"Sure thing Luce," Kevin gathered up his daughter.   
  
"All right, I'm going to call Roxanne real quick and make sure she got home all right," I said," then I'll be up to help you."  
  
I called Roxanne and talked for a minute before heading to Sammie's room to join Kevin in saying goodnight.  
  
"Mommy!" Sammie exclaimed.  
  
"So, do you want a bedtime story?" I asked.  
  
"Ooo, story," Sammie pulled out her favorite book, Dr. Suess's "Green Eggs and Ham".   
  
Kevin and I took turns reading to her until she fell asleep. Then we tucked her in and turned off the lamp. We paused in the doorway, Kevin's arms wrapped around me. We just stood there for a moment, admiring our sleeping daughter.  
  
"She's beautiful isn't she?" I asked.  
  
"She sure is, looks like her mother," Kevin smiled at me.  
  
I closed Sammie's door and we moved down the hall to our own bedroom so we wouldn't disturb her. Both of us changed into our night clothes and talked about how much we loved our daughter. I went into the bathroom that was connected to our master bedroom. I found what I was looking for on the counter next to the sink and carried into the bedroom where Kevin was already sitting under the covers.  
  
"What do you have there?" Kevin spotted the small item in my hand.   
  
"Well. Um, while you were changing Sammie into her pajamas I snuck down here into the bathroom. I, uh, took a pregnancy test. You remember that night in Hawaii?" I asked.  
  
"How could I forget?" he grinned," so...what does it say?"  
  
"I didn't look yet, I wanted to find out together," I held the test out so we could both see.  
  
(Simon's POV)   
  
Before we left Hawaii, I made sure to get my new friend's e-mail addresses so we could keep in touch. We all e-mailed eachother from time to time, but Allie and I talked every day. I think she really liked me, it was a shame that we lived on opposite ends of the country. So we made plans for the gang to fly out to California for their Spring Break.   
  
I had a heck of a time convincing Mom and Dad to let all of them stay here, but it worked. I think they are just glad I have friends. Most of the kids at school still kind of stayed away from me. A few of them let me hang out with them, so I wasn't a loner, but I wouldn't really want to hang out outside of school. I don't really mind people not liking me, but I think it bothers the parents a lot. Cecilia remained a close friend, but we never got into a relationship again. Things weren't quite the same between us ever. There was still that tension in the friendship, but we got past it.  
  
"Simon, phone!" Mom yelled up the stairs after school one day.  
  
"Okay," I called back," Hello."  
  
"Hi Simon, it's Allie!" she greeted me.  
  
"Allie! It's great to hear from you. I mean, I've never called because of the long distance," I stated.   
  
"Oh I know, it is expensive. But I got a new cellphone with free long distance! Isn't that great?" she asked.  
  
"It's awesome. Now we can talk more often," I grinned and closed my bedroom door.  
  
"So, I've been missing you, I know it's stupid because we barely know eachother," Allie started.   
  
I cut her off," Actually it's not stupid. I kinda miss you too. I can't wait for spring break so we can see eachother again."  
  
"Thank goodness. It's not just me," she said," so um. Simon...I was thinking. Maybe we could be boyfriend and girlfriend. Long distance stuff doesn't always work, but from what I know of you, I really like you."   
  
"I really like you too. I've never had a long distance relationship, so I think we could try this out," I agreed.  
  
"Okay. Cool. I have a boyfriend in California," she said," I like the sound of that."  
  
I laughed," And I have a girlfriend in Vermont. Oh, so how are Mark, Aaron and Leila?"  
  
"They're the same as always, a little crazy," Allie laughed.  
  
"That's good. How is school?" I inquired.  
  
"It's boring, but that's not a new development. I suppose your school's just as boring as mine?" she asked me.  
  
"Yep. Probably more! It's really great to hear you," I sighed happily.  
  
"I like hearing your voice too," she said," oh, sorry, I have to go it's dinnertime here."  
  
"Okay, goodbye. It was really great talking, girlfriend," I said.  
  
"Bye Simon!"  
  
A/N: So sorry for the delay. I had writer's block for a while. So I started writing this chapter and then I couldn't get back to it for a while because I was having problems with my kidney. I'm happy to report that I am fine and healthy now. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, as is your patience with me! 


	15. Oh Baby

Chapter 15: Oh Baby  
  
Quick A/N: I'm not a doctor and I've never given birth, so I'm not the best on my medical stuff here.  
  
(Kevin's POV)  
  
As Lucy held out the test for me to see, I immediately saw that it was positive.   
  
"Luce, it's positive, we're going to have another baby!" I announced.  
  
Her expression registered shock and she moved to sit on the edge of the bed," We're going to have another baby."  
  
"Yes, aren't you excited?" I asked with a grin.  
  
"Yeah, I just didn't entirely expect it yet," she hugged me.  
  
"You always said you wanted a big family," I pointed out.  
  
"True. I guess this is very good news," she placed her hand on her stomach," another baby."  
  
"So do you want another girl, or do you want a boy this time?" I asked.  
  
"Oh I don't know. A boy would be nice, but another girl would be great too," she smiled," either way I'll be happy. We should tell the family at dinner tomorrow."   
  
"All right," I yawned," I think it's time for bed now."  
  
Lucy turned of the lights and then crawled into bed next to me," Ready to be a daddy again?"  
  
"I sure am," I said. The longer that the news had to sink in, the more I was happy about it.  
  
"I think Sammie would like to have a little brother or sister," Lucy suddenly said.  
  
"I bet she will. She sure took a liking to David, so another kid who's here all the time would be great for her," I agreed.  
  
Lucy yawned," Well goodnight, Daddy."  
  
"Goodnight Mommy," I pulled her in for a hug.  
  
(Mary's POV)  
  
I was sleeping in the garage apartment, it must have been about 1 AM, when I felt a strange pain in my back.   
  
"Oooh," I moaned," not now. Please tell me it's a false alarm."  
  
I waited for a while and then the pain returned. So I figured it must have been the labor starting. I found my bag and went into the house to wake Mom up. I tried to be quiet as I moved through the house, and I hoped it was the real thing and not just the Braxton-Hicks (A/N: not sure of the spelling on that) contractions I had heard of.   
  
"Mom," I hissed.  
  
"Huh wha? Mary, what is it?" she asked groggily.  
  
"I think I'm in labor," I whispered, trying not to wake Dad up.  
  
"Oh my!" she jumped up out of the bed to get dressed.   
  
"Go wait in the car, Mary, I'll be right down," she ushered me towards the stairs, then when I was halfway down," wait a second!"  
  
She ran back into her room and tossed something to me. It was the car keys," Thanks Mom."   
  
Moments later Mom got into the driver's seat and pulled out of the garage. I sat back in the seat and closed my eyes. She explained that she told Dad that we were leaving and left a note for the kids in the morning. When we got to the hospital, I was put into a labor room to wait. A doctor popped in to examine me and explained it would be hours, probably the next day before the baby was born.   
  
"Hours? Mom I can't do this for hours!" I breathed heavily as another contraction began.   
  
"It's okay, you have to wait, dear," she stroked the top of my head.  
  
"Could you call Lucy? I want her to be here," I whimpered.  
  
"All right, I'll see if she wants to come now or wait for the morning," Mom said," it is late...or early I guess."  
  
She picked up the phone and dialed it. There was a moment of silence before she spoke," Luce? I know it's late, sorry. Mary's in labor...yes we're at the hospital now....no, he said tomorrow is more likely...I know...well she wants you to come down here...okay, we'll see you in a few then...bye!"  
  
Lucy was there within half an hour," I had to let Kevin know where I was going. He'll bring Sammie by tomorrow before he goes to work. So how are you doing so far?"  
  
"I'm all right," I lied. Truthfully, I was terrified. I didn't know what to expect. I wanted as many people who had gone through this to be with me as possible. I tried to keep telling myself I'd be okay, but it wasn't working.  
  
"I know it's tough, you'll get tired by the end, but when it's over, you'll have a little bundle of joy!" Lucy was still energetic, even at 3 AM.  
  
"How can you be so awake?" I asked her, I was exhausted.  
  
"I don't know, this is exciting. I get to be here for you while you have your baby," Lucy explained," and I know I'll be in the same spot in several months."  
  
Lucy was just beginning to show the signs of her pregnancy. It was already March, nearly April, and the last few months of my own pregnancy had seemingly flown by. I couldn't believe Lucy was having a baby again. I didn't even really want my own, but it was too late to say no. Of course I would love my child, but without a father, life would be hard.   
  
(Annie's POV)  
  
I could tell that Mary was scared, but she was too tough to admit it. Having a child could be very frightening, especially without the support of the father. I couldn't imagine how Mary was dealing with this. She had lots of family ready to support her, but raising a child alone wouldn't be a walk in the park. After several hours of labor, dawn finally broke and the doctor announced that Mary was about halfway there.   
  
"Only halfway!" Mary exclaimed.  
  
"Yes dear, these things take lots of time," I soothed.  
  
She fell back onto her pillow," Remind me never to do this again."  
  
"Mom, do you want me to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat?" Lucy asked.  
  
"That's a good idea. Bring back coffee please," I said.  
  
"Okay, I'll be back in a little while," Lucy headed out of the room.   
  
"I'm not even hungry," Mary sighed," I just want this to end!"  
  
_Well, now you're aware of the serious consequences of pre-marital sex_, I thought, then said," It'll be over sooner than you think."  
  
"I sure hope so," she said.  
  
We stayed silent the rest of the time Lucy was gone. Mary shut her eyes and tried to rest as best she could to save her energy for the pushing later. Lucy re-entered the room with a tray which she revealed to have two sticky buns, a cup of coffee, a cup of orange juice and a cup of ice for Mary.  
  
"Thanks Luce, I think I'll need that," Mary took the offered cup and began sucking on the ice.   
  
"Thank you for getting this," I took a plate and the coffee.  
  
"Not a problem," she smiled cheerily.   
  
About an hour later, a nurse came in," Which one of you is Mrs. Kinkirk?"  
  
"That's me," Lucy raised her hand.  
  
"There's a police officer outside for you," she looked rather confused.  
  
I laughed as Lucy said," That's my husband."  
  
She left the room, presumably to go get her daughter. When she came back, Eric was with her instead.  
  
"Hi Mary, how are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"I'm doing as well as can be expected," came the reply.  
  
"Well that's good," he said," the other kids are in the waiting room."  
  
"I have to go sit with Sammie for a while," Lucy said," she was very upset when Mommy wasn't there this morning. I better go explain to her why I was gone."  
  
"We'll send for you if Mary needs you," I told her as she left.  
  
(Ruthie's POV)  
  
I was a little surprised when Dad woke me up early this morning to tell me that Mary was in labor. I got ready quickly because I wanted to be there when her baby was born. I love babies. It was early, but I didn't mind at all when I knew it was for a birth. Simon, on the other hand, was a bit slow to get ready. We left without him and told him he could drive there on his own later. He showed up about an hour after we did.  
  
We waited for several hours before Mom came out to announce," It's a boy!"  
  
Everyone jumped up to hug one another and celebrate. There was another Camden boy in the world.   
  
"Nobody can go visit just yet," Mom explained," but I'll come get you when she's ready."  
  
"Wait, is there a name yet?" I asked her.  
  
"Not yet," she said and left the room.  
  
"Another boy to play with," David grinned.  
  
I laughed and explained that the baby wouldn't be able to play with him for a long time. He frowned and crossed his arms across his chest. I told him to remember when Sammie was younger and she couldn't play with him and I think he finally understood it.  
  
Shortly, Mom came out to have us come in one by one to see the baby. I waited impatiently for my turn to come. I watched as everyone came out smiling and saying how cute the baby was. Finally it was my turn and I practically ran to see the baby. Mom handed me a tiny bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.   
  
"Oh, he's so tiny," I cooed," he's cute too."  
  
"Yes he is," Mary smiled from her position on the bed.  
  
"Have you thought about names yet?" I asked.  
  
"I'm too tired for now," she yawned to strengthen her point.  
  
"Okay," I was disappointed. Baby Camden didn't seem right. He needed a name, but I could understand that Mary needed her rest. She'd been laboring since the middle of last night.  
  
We were excused from school for the day, so after everyone had their turn seeing the baby we decided to go out to lunch. I rode with Simon, while David rode with Dad. Lucy took Samantha in her own car. Mom stayed behind with Mary, who didn't want to be alone for a while. 


	16. Names

Chapter 16: Names  
  
(Simon's POV)  
  
"Hi Allie," I said," sorry I wasn't home. My big sister Mary had her baby."  
  
"Oh really. Is it a boy or girl?" Allie asked.  
  
"It's a boy," I said.  
  
"That's great. What did she name him?" Allie inquired.  
  
"No name yet," I said," I don't think she can decide."  
  
"I always liked the name Clark," Allie suggested.  
  
"I'll be sure and suggest that to Mary," I told her," so how have you been?"  
  
"I've been good. Nothing special going on here, sounds like you got all the excitement," she laughed.   
  
"Yeah, oh and my other older sister Lucy, the one who's married, just told us she's going to have another baby," I explained.  
  
"Wow. I wish someone in my family was the right age for having a baby. I love having babies around," Allie sighed.  
  
I laughed," That's probably just because you are an only child. If you had as many siblings as I do, you might not feel the same way."  
  
"Are you saying you don't like kids?" Allie sounded hurt.  
  
"No, I like kids. It's just that I've had a baby around for big parts of my life and sometimes you get a little sick of all the crying," I said.  
  
"Oh, yeah I guess I could understand that," Allie said," but I've never had another baby in my house. I just babysit for friends and stuff like that."  
  
"Well I hate to be so brief, but I have to go, we're going to visit Mary and the baby again," I said," just wanted to let you know why I wasn't home."  
  
"Okay, it's been nice talking again," Allie said and blew a kiss into the phone.  
  
I blushed, it was a bit awkward having a relationship over the phone," Good bye."  
  
"Bye Simon."  
  
When we got to the hospital, we all got to go visit Mary. She said that lots of people had been calling her and suggesting names. She couldn't find a single one that she felt suited her baby.   
  
"Oh, someone I know suggested the name Clark," I remembered.  
  
"Hmm. That's a new one. I'm not sure though," Mary frowned," this is hard."  
  
"What about Jack?" Dad said suddenly.  
  
"No, don't you remember the pilot?" Mary asked.  
  
"Oh yeah," his face fell," how could I forget."  
  
"I like the name Nicholas," Lucy mused.  
  
"I don't know if I like that," Mary sighed," sorry for all the trouble. I just want his name to be perfect."  
  
"I understand that," Lucy said," it's hard to pick one name that will stick with your kid for life."  
  
Ruthie spoke up," What about the names Kyle or Patrick?"   
  
"Both of them are good," Mary seemed lost in thought.   
  
"I know," I said," Why not Christopher?"  
  
"That's good too," she said.  
  
"What about the name Daniel?" Mom suggested.  
  
"Daniel Camden," Mary tried out the name," Mom, I think that's the one!"  
  
"Good, now what about the middle name?" I asked.  
  
"It could be David if you wanted," David said.  
  
"But your name is already David," I pointed out.  
  
"So? His first name is Daniel. We wouldn't call him David," Ruthie said.  
  
"Daniel David Camden. I like it. And we can call him Danny for short," Mary smiled.   
  
(Eric's POV)  
  
Mary finally settled on a name for her son. Annie, the kids and I left her at the hospital for a few hours while we helped set up her apartment for the baby's homecoming. She already had a cradle and all the furniture, but she hadn't had time to get everything ready. We picked up all the little things off the floor and cleaned the apartment from top to bottom. We reorganized her furniture and when we were satisfied that it was done, I drove to the hospital to bring Mary and her baby home.   
  
"It's a good thing the hospital gives all new mothers an infant car seat because I don't think we still have one," I said to Mary as she strapped the baby into the backseat.   
  
"Well, Lucy probably still has hers," Mary ventured," but it's good to have my own. She's going to need hers again soon."  
  
"You know, it will be nice to have a baby at the house again, I think it gives your mother purpose," I said as I pulled the car out of its parking spot," I mean it's going to be odd for us at first, but then when everyone gets settled in, it will be nice."  
  
"I'm glad that you guys brought me back to Glen Oak, I know I can't do this alone," she caught my eyes in the rearview mirror.  
  
"It's too bad that Daniel won't have a father," I said.  
  
"I know, Dad. I'm stupid," Mary sniffled.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant," I sighed," it's just going to be hard for you to be a single parent. I'm sure you more than learned your lesson. I think you will find that parenting is hard, but it is a joy in the end. Just look at your mother and I. We had 7 kids and you all turned out different, but we're proud of each of you in your own ways."  
  
"I wish there was a father too," she was still crying," it's not fair for Danny to be raised without one, but I already made my stupid decision. Now though, I think I really can be good, Dad. If I do something awful now, it not only effects my life, but it's going to affect my son's life too."  
  
"I have faith in you, Mary," I smiled at her," I know you can finally straighten out your life."  
  
"Oh no," she said suddenly.  
  
"What?" I asked with concern.  
  
"I never had time to finish getting ready for the baby, I'm not ready to have a newborn in the apartment," Mary worried.  
  
"Don't worry about it, everyone got together and helped get it ready for you," I explained.  
  
"Really?" Mary's eyes lit up," you guys did that for me?"  
  
"Yes, we knew you didn't have time to hardly get yourself settled in, let alone get entirely prepared for a baby. So we took care of it for you," I told her.  
  
"Thank you so much," Mary rested her head back on the seat in relief.   
  
"Just know, we are always here to help you with anything you need," I offered," both your mother and I. And Ruthie's quite good watching the baby if you need to get out after a few weeks."  
  
"I'd be lost without you guys. I have the best family in the world," Mary smiled through the tears in her eyes.   
  
"We all love you, Mary, no matter how many bad things you have done, you are still our daughter. You are still the other kids' sister. Nothing will stop us from loving you," I teared up a little myself.  
  
"Thank you, Daddy," she whispered.  
  
I pulled the car into the driveway and turned off the engine. I went around to the backseat to help Mary with the baby. I carried her bags in for her and she carried her son up the stairs. Everyone was waiting in the apartment for Mary and I. They had a cake that said 'Congrats! It's a boy!' on it in blue icing.   
  
"You didn't get a baby shower, so we all have presents for you now," Annie announced with a grin.  
  
"Wow, I didn't expect this," Mary said, surprise apparent in her voice.   
  
"Here's what I got you," Ruthie handed her a small package.  
  
Mary handed her son to Annie and opened the present. Inside was a yellow knitted blanket with the name Daniel David Camden stitched into it.   
  
"I put the name on this morning," Ruthie explained.  
  
"Thanks," Mary pulled her youngest sister into a hug.  
  
"Me next," Lucy handed Mary a gift.  
  
She tore open the wrapping paper to discover a tiny pair of pajamas that said "I love my Mommy" on them.  
  
"They're cute," Mary hugged Lucy as well.  
  
David stepped up next," It's not new, but I want him to have it." He held out his favorite teddy bear.  
  
"Oh David, you don't have to," Mary started.  
  
"No, he needs it. He's a baby, I'm a big kid now," he explained.  
  
"Well thanks, I'm sure Danny will love it," Mary kissed the top of her brother's head.  
  
Simon gave her a baby swing," I spent part of my last paycheck on it."  
  
"You didn't have to spend so much on me," Mary started to cry," you guys are all very sweet."  
  
"We love you Mary," Annie hugged her daughter while Ruthie took her turn holding the baby.  
  
"Your father and I bought you a bunch of diapers, you'll need them," Annie explained.  
  
"Yes, you will find that they come in very useful," I said," you should be set for a while."  
  
"I love all of you guys," Mary smiled, teary-eyed at her family.   
  
"Time for cake!" Annie announced.  
  
Everyone waited patiently while Annie cut the cake. Ruthie brought Danny over to me and placed him in my arms. My first grandson, I thought as I held the tiny bundle. He was tiny, but he looked very healthy. As I watched him, he reached his tiny arm up and placed his hand on my cheek. I shivered as the baby's smooth, tiny hands brushed against my skin. It was as if that moment he was saying," Hi Grandpa." 


End file.
